CNKNA Caterpillar's Heart
by Toranina
Summary: Alice missed people with common sense. She had chosen to stay in this crazy world, and she did not regret it, but she missed being able to have a regular conversation. She missed people who valued life. Peter decided to help Alice. He brought in another outsider. But this girl shatters the expectations of outsiders. She fits in.
1. Chapter 1

Bang! Bang!

"Why are you still here flea? Get your filth away from me!"

Mara laughed as she ran from the gun toting maniac Peter White, sending a few bullets back his way from her own gun. She collapsed in the forest, still laughing. Until, after a second she realized something. She now had no place to stay. Heart Castle was the only place she had been in this crazy world. She had a feeling that she would not be welcomed back. Damn. Now where to go?

She slept in a tree. It was definitely not the sort of sleeping place she was used to, but it would do. She had no desire to find another place to leech off of. The forest would be her home for now.

She was in a sort of void. She was standing on solid ground, but whichever direction she looked was just a mess of colours. Greens and purples and blues pervaded her vision. She blinked. She couldn't have seen what she thought she had seen right? Was that the garden at home? She had taken a step towards it, when she heard a voice from behind.

"Hello Mara."

She spun around. A man was floating in the air. He appeared perfectly comfortable with floating and not at all confused. She assumed he knew where this place was.

"That's right. I am Nightmare. Welcome to my domain."

Nightmare? What a silly name. But, she supposed, people give their children worse burdens to bear.

"You could stop reflecting on my name and talk to me."

She jumped. Somehow she had forgotten he was here.

"How do you know what I was thinking about?"

He laughed, floating in front of her. "Well my dear, I can read minds."

"Hm..." Mara was not really surprised. In this weird world of floating colours, anything was possible. In the dream outside of this dream anything was possible. It would be very difficult to find something surprising here unless you found a piece of sanity.

"You're ignoring me again."

She supposed she was. But, in her sleep like state, she didn't really care.

"Would you be more willing to listen if you were awake then?"

Mara nodded sleepily as the world faded to black.

She rolled over, and opened her eyes, just to see a face. She shrieked and jumped back. She felt her head hit the wall. Ouch.

"You're awake!"

The person who had shocked her was now sitting beside her, on the couch she had been sleeping on. He was the man in her dream. She blinked. That sounded ... Romantic? ... She didn't think that was the right word. Anyway, here he was.

"You're awake, now will you listen to me?"

She nodded. She doesn't like talking right when she wakes up; her voice doesn't work right.

Nightmare started talking. She listened, mostly. He said that the place they were was called the country of Clover, in Wonderland and that all were participants of the game, even her. In order to win the game, and go home, she had to meet the inhabitants of Wonderland, and fill her vial.

...Wait a minute...

What vial?

Nightmare smiled and handed her something. A vial? It was the container for the thing that Peter gave her. Where did nightmare get this.

"It fell out of your pocket on the way here."

She tilted the vial back and forth, looking at the few drops of pale blue liquid inside.

"How did I get here anyways?"

"Gray carried you."

As if on cue, the door opened.

"Master Nightmare, I hope you're working."

Nightmare bolted. Before Mara could register what happened, Nightmare was at the desk, frantically filling out paperwork. She stood up and stretched, turning towards the door. A tall man with dark hair and yellow eyes was standing in the doorway, staring at her. She blinked, and fought the urge to blush. She was a grown woman. A handsome man should not be able to make her blush so easily. After a second of eye contact, he spun around and deposited the large stack of paper on Nightmare's desk. Nightmare, who had stopped working to watch them, groaned.

"Nightmare, now is not the time for a break."

Nightmare pouted. The almost ever present childish tone in his voice heightened, making him sound like a whiny kid.

"Gray, introduce yourself to our guest. This is Mara."

The man, Gray turned towards her, giving her a glimpse of a black tattoo on his neck. A lizard?

"I'm Gray Ringmarc, the lizard. I work for Lord Nightmare."

Mara smiled. "Mara Milotte. Pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Do you mind if I ask, are you a foreigner?"

"I'm not from here if that's what you mean."

Mara found this man very easy to converse with. Just small talk with him felt comforting somehow.

"Hey, Mara!" Nightmare's voice tore her away from her thoughts. "Want to stay here, in Clover Tower?"

"Sure. I've got nowhere better to go, and I won't turn down an offer of lodgings."

Nightmare jumped out of his seat. "Awesome, I'll show you to a room where you can stay, and..."

"Master Nightmare." Gray detached Nightmare's hands from Mara's arm. "I'll show her. You need to work."

"But..."

"If you don't have this stack of paperwork at least half finished by the time we get back, no coffee for 10 time changes." With that, Gray led Mara out of the room.

"What are time changes?" Mara asked, following Gray down the hall.

"Each day is divided into day, evening and night. They happen at random and for indeterminable lengths of time." Mara nodded, "Ah. I think I get it. Is Nightmare so unlikely to do his work that you have to threaten him?"

Gray sighed, gently pulling Mara down a side corridor. "Unfortunately, yes. Lord Nightmare is a very unmotivated, sickly superior."

"I'm guessing you have to do much of his work for him."

He sighed again, raking his hand through his black hair. "I'm afraid I don't get too much spare time as a result of Lord Nightmare's childishness." He stopped in front of a door. "This room shall be yours for as long as you need it." He opened the door to a large room done in various shades of green. A king sized canopy bed was in the middle of the room, looking as though it were so soft you would sink all the way through.

Gray smiled. "Do you like it?"

"Of course, it's beautiful." Mara set her small bag on the oak dresser. "Thank you very much."

"I'll leave you then. I'll be back in an hour to fetch you for lunch."

Mara thanked him again then fell onto the incredibly soft bed. She felt herself drifting to sleep. It was pathetic of her, as she had just woken up, but hey, a nap couldn't hurt. And last night she had slept in a tree. That had to impact one's quality of sleep. The last thought she had was remembering to kick off her shoes. Then she fell asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Mara awoke to someone knocking at her door. "Who is it?"

"Its Gray. It's time for lunch."

Mara sat up. She probably looked a mess, falling asleep in her clothes.

"Just a moment." She quickly ran a brush through her hair and tried to remove the wrinkles from her clothes. Then she opened the door.

Mara followed Gray back through the halls, towards Nightmare's office. "We're just going to eat in Master Nightmare's office. That way he gets the most work done as is possible."

She smiled at Gray's slightly anxious face. Did he seriously think she'd be offended? "It's fine. I get where you're coming from."

They stopped for a moment in front of Nightmare's office. Gray smiled at her, and there was a moment that felt as if something should happen, then Mara heard Nightmare's voice from inside.

"Do you have my food?"

Gray opened the door. "One of the maids is bringing it. I didn't have time to make it myself."

Mara saw an immediate look of happiness cross Nightmare's face. Was Gray a bad cook or something?

"Yes! The worst! Be careful or you might die!" Mara laughed. It couldn't be that bad. "It is too! Just you wait!"

Mara heard a knock on the door she was leaning on, and opened it. A maid was standing there, holding a platter overflowing with food. It was then, staring at the perfectly red tomatoes, the plump peas and smelling the sausage and roast beef that Mara realized she hadn't eaten since Peter kicked her out of the castle. Her stomach growled audibly. Damn. This was embarrassing. She was used to meals just being brought to her at home, so she hadn't remembered to eat.

Gray pulled a table cloth out of the closet, and covered the small table, also pulled from the closet, that he sat in front of Nightmare's desk. The maid sat the platter on the table, then disappeared out the door. Gray walked around the table and pulled out a chair for Mara. "Miss Milotte."

"Noooooo!"

Mara felt Nightmare yank her towards him. "Mara sits with me!"

She rolled her eyes. "You know we are all sitting at the same table."

Nightmare laughed awkwardly. "Heh, right.."

Gray glanced over at them. "Only if Nightmare's finished his work."

Somehow the expression on Nightmare's face became even more sheepish. "Uh... I'm finished?"

"Let me see." Gray flipped through the pile of paperwork on Nightmare's desk, before handing it back to him. "You haven't done anything all morning. Finish another thirty papers, then you can eat."

"So cruel.."

Nightmare went back to work as Mara and Gray sat in front of his desk, eating. His usually slow movements were quickened by the motivation of food.

Mara was putting together her second sandwich, and was about to take a bite, when a loud noise startled her. Nightmare, as a method of emphasizing the fact that he was finished, had slammed his hands on his desk. Damn him. She had almost dropped her sandwich.

"At least you get to eat! I want food now! Gray~ I'm done~" Nightmare was such a child. That whining voice, and the exclamations about anything he found unfair. Life wasn't fair.

As Mara was contemplating life, she was not paying much attention to the conversation between Gray and Nightmare. At least, not until she heard her name.

"Make me a sandwich"

"What?"

"Make me a sandwich."

Well, she supposed, he had offered her lodgings here. But he'd better not be picky about what kind if sandwich she made. He'd get what he'd get. In a few moments, Mara had a ham sandwich to hand to Nightmare.

"Here," she stated, and promptly went back to her own mental world. How had such a childish man become the boss of someone as hardworking as Gray? Her uncle had been a horrible boss, but he was mean, not childish. Her thoughts were vaguely interrupted by an argument between said boss and subordinate. Nightmare didn't want to go back to work. She tuned out those two, and went back to contemplating. In her uncle's domain work was finished due to fear. No one could fear someone as weak as Nightmare. She snapped back into the real world when she heard coughing. Nightmare was coughing.

"You two are both being so hard on me. I feel like I'm going to throw up." With the casual way Gray handed Nightmare a trash can, she figured this was a normal occurrence. But still. If Nightmare wasn't feeling well, should he even be working?

Wait. Was that blood?! Was he coughing up blood?! "For Christsake, get a doctor or something!"

"I don't want to go to the hospital. So I'm not going." F**k was he childish. Honestly how was someone this childish in charge of this place. And how is this tower still standing? It seemed that her thought sent Nightmare into an new bout of coughing. She felt a bit desensitized now. If he wouldn't go to the hospital he was bringing this upon himself. She'd just follow Gray's reaction in this. Calm, help him a little, but in general, ignore as if it were the tantrum of a toddler. Che palle. This added another level of strangeness to this place.


	3. Chapter 3

"I want to go out." Mara, sitting beside Nightmare as he worked - she thought she was supposed to be supervising or something?- was bored. Clover tower was nice, but it was too peaceful. They didn't go out on raids, and she had none of her usual means to allay her boredom. All the people did here was work, and there was no way that she would do that. Someone of her status was not made for work. She'd been trapped in this damn place for the last week, while everybody else did work. Losers.

Nightmare seemed to have caught the last bit of her train of thought, as he quickly jumped to his own defence. "I didn't want to do this work. Gray made me.."

Mara scoffed at Nightmare's excuses. "The fact that Gray had to do that only makes you more pathetic. I'm not so much of a loser that a subordinate could order me around. Grow a spine. Also, find me an escort. I want to get out of this boring tower."

Nightmare blinked at her. "You're a bit entitled aren't you."

Mara spun around on her chair so she was staring directly at Nightmare. "I know what I deserve."

And after a moment she added, "I will need some money as well. A couple hundred should do for now."

Nightmare was still staring blankly at her when Gray entered the room a moment later. "Gray, find someone to take her out of the tower. Or, better yet, do it yourself."

"You should know by know that I'm not that easily tricked. I will go find miss Mara an escort, but I expect that pile to be half it's size when I return."

Mara was a little annoyed. She had wanted Gray to take her out. But, she supposed, it made sense that he wouldn't. Without him to watch Nightmare, nothing would be accomplished, and she assumed Nightmare did something important. Still, it would be nice if it were Gray. "Why don't you come with me? I'm not sure a faceless would be strong enough to protect me."

"You seem perfectly capable of handling your own safety, if you are confident enough to wear those guns you have so openly. An escort would simply serve as a tourist guide."

Mara huffed. It was true, but not very polite if him to state openly. A proper lady would never go anywhere without a body guard, no matter how capable she was. And Mara had been raised as a lady.

This world was a bad influence. Mara had noticed herself gradually letting up on the distance with which she held herself separate from the world, and now, here she was, wandering around alone. She would never have let this happen at home. She sighed. It's not like it really mattered. No one from home was here. She could do whatever the hell she wanted without worrying about family reputation. The rules were different here anyways.

She had money now, a handful of bills that she had received from Nightmare. Wandering the town area was a good way to kill time, and maybe she would find something to buy. She'd left all of her possessions behind when she'd come here, so she needed new makeup, new clothes, the whole works. Hopefully Nightmare had given her enough to cover everything. Now all she had to do was find a proper shop.

Wonderland did not seem lacking in variety, and Mara had no real issues resupplying herself with clothing and other stuff. She hasn't been able to buy everything she wanted, as the money she had been given hadn't lasted very long, but she had the basics now.

She fiddled with the gun hanging on her right side. She had walked by a few gun fights, and some random faceless had tried to rob her, but those were things she was already used to at home. It just happened much more often here.

She let herself into Nightmare's office, and plopped down on the couch. She had dropped her purchases in her room, and now she was bored. She knew that Nightmare would be willing to entertain her. But... Where was he? There were stacks of paperwork on the desk, but the seat was empty. He must be hiding. Humph. She was relatively good at hide and seek. She always found whomever was hiding from her. The consequences of hiding were never good.

She heard a small noise from the closet and went to open it, right hand drifting towards the gun on her hip. She flung open the door.

"Eek!"

"What the!?"

In a tumble of flailing limbs, Nightmare fell towards her, clinging tightly to the arm that had been heading towards her weapon. Unbalanced, and caught off guard, the ex mafiosa fell backwards, landing unceremoniously on the ground, Nightmare on top of her.

She froze. This was a compromising position. Her left arm was pinned under her, and the Caterpillar was holding her right wrist to the ground. She couldn't reach either of her guns in this situation.

Nightmare hadn't seemed to have noticed her thoughts, as he was hovering above her, unmoving. She looked up at him, meaning to yell at him, and shove the weakling off of her, but when her eyes met his, she became just as much of a statue as him.

Was she blushing? Why was she blushing? She'd been plenty closer to a man before. She wasn't an innocent maiden, not the type of girl who flushed at any simple touch. So, why was she blushing? Nightmare's face turned red as she watched, and then his strength failed hand he collapsed on top of her. The spell was broken, and she shoved him off.

Quickly standing up, she held out a hand to help up the sickly man. She stared for a second, the took the outstretched hand, and she helped him to his feet. She smiled innocently at him. "Shouldn't you be working?"


End file.
